The conduct atrocities of the present central Government of Nigeria using the Nigerian Army and its immediate past Chief of Army Staff, ...
The conduct atrocities of the present central Government of
Nigeria using the Nigerian Army and its immediate past Chief of Army Staff,
Retired Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai took another shameless and cowardly
dimension in the afternoon of Thursday being yesterday, 25th Feb 2021 along
Suleja-Bida Road in Niger State when Barrister Richie Ebuka Okoroafor, a
British citizen of Igbo nativity and international human rights lawyer narrowly
but divinely escaped assassination by suspected Government assassins. The
Nigerian Government conduct atrocity perpetrators now seem to have shifted from
hiring “human rights contractors” and paid ‘columnists’ and ‘writers’ to
attempts at violently taking away the precious lives of critics and activists
justly, pricelessly and conscientiously exposing their atrocities perpetrated
in service.
The Abia State-born
British Lawyer broke the sad news to Intersociety and Government of the United
Kingdom yesterday evening hours after recovering from shocks associated with
the assassination attempt. The attempted assassination had taken place along
Suleja-Bida Road when he was returning to Abuja after visiting the Alpha Base,
manned by soldiers and belonging to the Joint Security Taskforce or JTF in
Niger State. His visit to the temporary Army Base followed new discovery of
another batch of 109 Obigbo Army abductees including Citizen Elvis Ngozi whom
his family recently located to the Base through an Army officer contacted by
the Family. Barrister Okoroafor had before leaving the Base noticed that his
private car had been marked with a black paint in the rim marked after he had
parked the car and entered the Base.
Conscious of that
fact and believing in God Almighty and the taintless spirits of those violently
departed by the named perpetrators for divine protection, Lawyer Okoroafor
entered his car and drove for about 20 minutes from the Base returning to Abuja
when his car was crossed and blocked by an unmarked white Hilux with some armed
men who opened fire instantly and at close. His car was rained with live
bullets including aiming and shooting at driver’s and car owner’s sides. The
Lawyer took a back reverse and managed to find his way into a market place,
forcing the assassins to speed off and escape. The Lawyer was driving in a
black Mercedes Car (GLK M133 Model). The
matter was later reported to the Nigeria Police Force, Suleja Area Command in
Niger State. The British Government also responded swiftly and offered to
evacuate the Lawyer who is of British citizenship back to UK subject to his
approval.
Why They Want Barrister Okoroafor Assassinated
Apart from exposing the secret trial and execution of six
Igbo Christian soldiers who were secretly executed on 24th Jan 2021 at the instruction
of then Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai (as he then was),
Barrister Okoroafor, also jointly with others located not less than 370 out of
over 400 defenseless Obigbo residents abducted between Oct and Nov 2020 by
Nigerian Army under the leadership of the same Tukur Buratai. The abductions
followed a war-grade invasion and attacks by Nigerian Army on Obigbo and
environs during which 102 defenseless civilians were killed and 120 others shot
and injured. Out of the over 400 Obigbo abductees, 208 have been freed by
Courts and names of 162 others including 53 girls and young women located. The
judicial release of the 208 abductees was achieved through the dogged efforts
of the Lawyer and other lawyers working with him. Though Lt Gen Buratai was
asked to retire on 26th Jan 2021 by Nigerian Government but he was un-popularly
made an “ambassador” despite stiff local and international oppositions and
criticisms over his terribly poor human rights records.
Fingering Army & Buratai In The Assassination Attempt
It is almost an act of impossibility for the assassination
attempt not to have arisen from the Nigerian Army and the camp of its immediate
past Chief of Staff, Retired Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, and by extension, the
Government of Nigeria. This is also owing to the fact that the ex-Army chief is
now a diplomatic employee of the same Government of Nigeria that appointed him
Army Chief on 13th July 2015.
According to a
criminological analysis done in the instant case by Emeka Umeagbalasi:
“Barrister Okoroafor is a young lawyer with rising local and international
reputation but he is new in Nigerian social lifestyles or its political murky
waters to warrant enmity of such terminal proportion; therefore the surest and
inescapable point of strong suspicion is rested in the doorsteps of the
Nigerian Army and its immediate Chief of Staff, Retired Lt Gen Tukur Buratai.
In this instance, the latter is the first or most suspected of the suspected.
The Lawyer, as a matter of fact, has told me more than three times that he is
being marked, tracked and trailed by suspected agents of the Nigerian
Government since Nov 2020 when he rescued the first batch of 52 Obigbo abductees
in Niger State.
Therefore, although
Gov Nyesom Wike was vicariously involved in the massacre and abductions but his
desperation and panics are most likely not have gone beyond the boundaries of
Obigbo and Rivers State. The other accused person/entity (Army and its ex COAS)
are considered more desperate and mean and may have decided to “travel” the
Barrister and potential others so as to prevent further exposition of the
untold stories of the Obigbo Army atrocities or for purpose of preventing international
embarrassments and sanctions against the newly appointed non-career
ambassador(s) (i.e. ex Army Chief). Looking at the circumstances and patterns
of the assassination attempt, too, there are strong suggestive of the fact that
the assassins are likely the serving members of the “Special Assignment” squad
of the Nigerian Army or DSS.
Attached are the
pictures of Barrister Richie Ebuka Okoroafor’s Mercedes Car riddled with
bullets and some expended cartridges recovered from the scene of the attempted
assassination.
Signed
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of
Law
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., and Chidimma
Udegbuna
(Principal Officers)
Contacts:
Mobile/WhatsApp: +2348174090052
No comments